Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday announced it was reducing its stake in Australia's Woodside Petroleum, selling Aus$5.3 billion (US$5.0 billion) in shares as it focuses its Australian growth in directly-owned assets.

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries has floated a tanker-shaped vessel tagged as the world's largest "floating facility" with a length greater than the height of the Empire State Building in New York.

A Dutch court will decide on Wednesday whether Shell should clean up oil damage that destroyed a group of Nigerian farmers' land, a case that could set a precedent for global environmental responsibility.

An oil industry watchdog said Monday that Shell paid Nigeria's military and police $65 million over two years to secure company facilities, alleging the firm had bankrolled forces widely accused of rights abuses.